Ambushed
by The Pink Brain
Summary: COMPLETE - Two teams of GI Joes are assigned to missions around the globe. Tragedy strikes one team bearing the name of Cobra. The small team of six sustains grave injuries, resulting in one death and one life balancing on the edge. Ch 1-Rated R
1. Default Chapter

Notes: First of all, thank you to all of the wonderful authors who write such wonderful stories. I hope you enjoy mine. I definitely loved all of the sweet, romantic and holiday ones that I read over Christmas. You'll never know how helpful and uplifting they all were. But . . . . . . it is now after the holidays, and I'm going to shake things up a bit. (I'm still a nice guy, really I am) My story has romance hidden in it, in that angsty, I'll-die-without-you, sort of way. What you are about to read does happen, in a roundabout way. The names, places, and circumstances are changed to protect the innocent.

I just briefly want to reiterate that this is rated R for a mature theme, some language, and is a full-fledged angst/tragedy GI Joe story.

Disclaimer: Devils Due, Sunbow, Marvel, and Hasbro own GI Joe.

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**Ambushed  
****Chapter 1 – The News  
By: Pink Brain**

Flint hung up his cell phone and looked around at his small team. Everyone was busy working on their assigned tasks and never noticed his guilt-ridden face. Walking over to his wife, he stood silently beside her.

Lady Jaye looked up from the piles of papers in front of her and saw her husband's worried eyes. Concern spread across her face as she quickly asked, "Dash, what's the matter?" She could tell something awful happened by his downcast eyes and solemn mood. When Flint didn't reply, she stood up, grabbed his hand, and led him to the temporary office tent that had been set up for this mission. "Honey, talk to me. What happened?"

"Shana just called. She is at the hospital. Cobra found them and damn near wiped them all out," Flint growled angrily, his voice catching before slamming his fist onto the makeshift card table desk.

Lady Jaye jumped at Flint's anger and then grabbed his arm, twisting to look into his face. "Dash, why is Shana at the hospital? What in the hell happened? Talk to me," she pleaded, seeing Flint's red and angry eyes.

"Bill and Hector are in comas, and" his voice trailed off as his eyes looked away from the green, horror-filled eyes of his wife.

"And?" Lady Jaye paused briefly, but when her husband did not immediately respond, she added fearfully, "What about the others?" The small team stationed in the Indies consisted of Scarlett, Shipwreck, Wild Bill, Steeler, Cover Girl, and Duke.

Flint shook his head. "Conrad is fine, but Courtney is in surgery with Doc and Lifeline, fighting for her life, and…and we lost Ralph," the Warrant Officer barely whispered. He looked at the tears forming in Lady Jaye's eyes and pulled her close to him, embracing her tightly.

"Oh my God," Lady Jaye murmured in shock as she buried her head against her husband's broad chest. "What happened?" She managed to ask, sniffing back her tears.

Swallowing hard, he recapped what he had been told. "Bludd showed up and blew up their fucking camp. Steeler and Cover Girl had the lead with their Mobat and Wolverine. Scarlett flanked them to the right in a Vamp, and Shipwreck took the left. Duke and Bill were in the air. The Mobat took a direct hit, trapping Steeler inside. Shipwreck worked to free him, but it exploded and knocked Shipwreck backwards into his Vamp. The explosion flung metal and shrapnel everywhere, but Cover Girl absorbed the majority of the blast. It damn near took off her head from what Duke witnessed. Right before Duke and Bill took out Bludd's Hiss, a Fang locked coordinates on Bill's Dragonfly. As Bill tried to parachute to safety, the Fang blasted bullet holes in the chute, and Bill freefell to the ground. He has multiple broken bones and a possible broken back. Scarlett sustained a broken arm but managed to call in the Medivac before her Vamp was destroyed. Duke had radioed for help, but by the time Ace and Hawk got there, it was too late. The camp was wasted. The reinforcements from Ace and Hawk were enough to cause Cobra to retreat but not before the snakes destroyed everything."

Lady Jaye pulled back and looked at Flint. She noticed he did not go into detail about how Steeler died, but she imagined he was blown apart by the explosion. Shuddering at the thought, she asked in a troubled voice, "How did they not know Cobra was coming? What happened to their equipment?"

"I just called Mainframe. He told me that Dial Tone is researching your question right now. He thinks the frequencies were jammed or somehow rerouted so that their equipment never picked up the small Cobra team. Al, Cobra specifically came with the intent to destroy that team. They didn't want any prisoners. If Ace, Hawk, and Duke had not run them off, they just may have wiped out all of our comrades," Flint explained. "Duke, Cross Country, and Snake Eyes are on their way here. Cross Country is going to replace Dusty, so that Duke can take him back to be with Cover Girl, and Snake Eyes is going to be some extra eyes."

"Oh Dash, this is awful. Ron is going to freak out. He and Court were supposed to get married next month," she said, placing a hand over her mouth.

"I know, honey. I need to get the guys in so that Conrad and Ron can leave right away. From what Shana said, Court is in bad shape and may not make it. She lost a lot of blood, has shrapnel buried throughout her body, and her brain was swelling rapidly." Flint stepped over to the radio and called the two sets of guys.

"Coyote 1, Coyote 2, copy," Flint announced over the frequency in a clear voice, unlike the cracking, emotion-filled voice from a minute ago.

Clutch grabbed the communicator and replied, "Coyote 2 here, Bone Daddy."

"Ditto man, this is Coyote 1, over," Footloose answered, shaking his head at Clutch and watching Dusty and Grunt return to the humvees.

"Guys, I need you both to come in ASAP, over," Flint ordered.

"You got it," Clutch answered, thankful to get a break.

"Okay," Footloose acknowledged, creasing his eyebrow at the odd request. They were not due to come in for several more hours.

"See you four soon, out," Flint said, ending the call.

Both men returned their transmitters to the cradle, accepting Flint's order. "Bone Daddy? Man, what was up with that?" Footloose hollered over to Clutch.

"It sure seems that way. We are out here scrapping around in the sand, getting all grimy and dirty. I would much rather be getting greasy and oily under this truck. My throat feels like sandpaper," Clutch complained, coughing as he inhaled some more sand particles that were floating in the air.

Dusty shook his head. "You have to commune with the desert, Lance. It's not so bad."

"Yeah, right," Clutch sarcastically retorted, driving away as he led the way back to camp after Grunt climbed in beside him.

Footloose and Dusty followed. "Don't you think it is rather odd to be called in now?" Dusty asked Footloose.

"Maybe, but my karma is telling me something is up," Footloose answered, glancing over at Dusty's bewildered expression. "The karma never lies. It is all dark and gloomy. Maybe we have some weather coming."

Dusty looked around at the few clouds and blue skies. "Nah, it all looks normal. The clouds are not moving so I doubt a sandstorm is approaching. I guess we will find out soon." He leaned back in his seat and propped his hands behind his head.

Meanwhile, after Flint made his call, he and Lady Jaye walked out of the tent and called the other guys together. "I just called the Coyotes back. Duke is on his way. ETA is less than an hour away."

Gung Ho looked up from his weapon. "Why is Duke coming? He surely isn't done with his assignment yet, is he?"

"Probably wants some of my cooking," Roadblock kidded, stirring the pot of stew that had been cooking all day.

Lady Jaye glanced at Flint and then walked back to her papers. She sniffed and rubbed her reddened eyes. Flint looked at Gung Ho, Roadblock, Stalker, and Lift Ticket. "I'll tell you all when the others get here," Flint quickly said, walking back into the tent so that he could try to figure out how to tell them the horrible news.

Gung Ho and Stalker went back to cleaning their weapons, and Lift Ticket checked out the two Tomahawks. Before long, the approaching humvees came into view. Parking the vehicles, the four dusty men climbed out and walked over to the others. "Now that smells good," Clutch exclaimed.

"Get your dirty ass away from the food," Roadblock reprimanded.

"Chill out, dude," Footloose grumbled, backing away from the angry chef and pulling Clutch with him.

From inside the tent, Flint put down his paperwork that he had been trying to work on when he heard the approaching vehicles. Stepping out, he saw his small team gathering around the big bowl of stew. He made eye contact with Lady Jaye and then cleared his throat. "Men, gather around."

The eight men stopped talking and walked over to where Flint was standing. Lady Jaye got up and circled around behind Dusty and Grunt. There were several times that she did not envy her husband's command position, and this was one of them.

Flint took a deep breath before saying, "Duke is on his way here with Snake Eyes and Cross Country." He saw the looks that the guys gave each other and a few hushed voices. "His team," he continued, "was ambushed last night by Cobra."

"Was anyone hurt?" Gung Ho asked. The Cajun knew that something bad happened by Flint's actions the past thirty minutes.

"There were casualties," Flint confirmed. His eyes briefly landed on Dusty before he looked away and continued. "Shana has a broken arm, Hector is in a coma with head trauma, and Bill is also in a coma with several broken bones and a possible spinal cord injury. Courtney is in surgery with severe blood loss, head trauma, internal and external injuries, and," he shook his head, paused, then continued, "and I'm sorry to inform everyone but Ralph didn't make it." As he finished, he looked at each stunned face before resting his eyes on the young desert trooper. "Ron, I'm sorry. The last I heard she was still in surgery. I don't know anything else."

The team looked around in shock; one of their own was dead, and three others were seriously injured. Grunt placed a supportive hand on Dusty's shoulder as Lady Jaye walked up beside him. "Ron?" She nudged the trooper.

Dusty stood stock-still listening to Flint list the casualties and wounded, feeling his blood drain from his face as each teammate's injury got worse. His heart seemed to stop when Flint mentioned Cover Girl's name. He didn't hear anything that Flint said after "surgery". He was frozen and oblivious to those around him. Finally, the hand on his shoulder and the tug on his arm brought him back to reality. "What?" His voice managed to question with a very audible crackle in his throat.

Lady Jaye soothingly spoke, "Courtney is in surgery with multiple injuries." She knew what he wanted to hear. She remembered the times that Flint and his team had been either captured or ambushed, and as selfish as it seemed at the moment of being informed of the situation, she only had wanted to know her husband's fate.

"How bad?" He asked.

She shook her head sadly. "She lost a lot of blood, has internal and external bleeding, and sustained some severe head trauma. I'm sorry, Ron. Duke is coming to take you to see her."

Clutch walked up and squeezed Dusty's shoulder. "She'll be fine. Court's a strong woman."

Flint was explaining what he knew to the others as Clutch, Grunt, and Lady Jaye tried to console Dusty. Dusty looked over at Clutch as he overheard Flint. "Ralph died?"

Clutch nodded before he turned away. The grease monkey walked over to the other side of a humvee and slid down to sit on the sandy ground.

Dusty looked back at Grunt. "I'm sorry, Rob. I know Ralph was your friend."

Grunt nodded his head. "Thank you. He will be missed. Give Courtney a hug for me when you see her. Lance is right. She'll be fine. She has to be fine," the infantry trooper repeated before shrugging and walking away to be by himself.

"Come on, Ron," Lady Jaye softly said, gently leading him towards his tent. "Rob and Lance are right. Courtney will be fine. Doc and Lifeline are with her. She is in good hands," she reassured the desert trooper, hoping that she sounded confident and that her voice didn't reveal the sadness that she felt by the loss of Steeler and all the injured.

Dusty walked slowly with Lady Jaye as she led him towards his tent. Footloose was inside, packing Dusty's bag. Lady Jaye nodded her thanks to Footloose and then retreated towards Flint and the others.

"Thanks, Andy," Dusty mumbled, sitting down on his rolled up sleeping bag almost in a daze.

"I'm sorry, man. I really am. Give her a kiss for me," Footloose said and then turned and walked out of the tent, leaving Dusty to his own sorrow.

A short time later, the sound of two Sky Strikers filled the sky. Within moments, they landed, and the three Joes climbed out. Flint walked over to meet them and listened as Duke filled him in on the updates regarding the team. Cross Country and Snake Eyes grabbed their packs and headed for the tents to stow their gear. Both men looked around at the silent camp. Cross Country temporarily placed his bag in the tent that Snake Eyes would be sharing with Stalker since his tent would be with Footloose, but Dusty was still in there.

Lift Ticket was cleaning the windows of the Tomahawks for the third or fourth time; he was lost in his thoughts and prayed for the injured and especially his cowboy friend and teammate. Footloose shuffled through some papers and logged the findings of today's work, but his mind kept traveling back to his friends and how badly the news was affecting everyone. He cursed his karma, wishing that for once it had been wrong. Roadblock continued to prepared dinner, but the smell had lost its appeal as had everyone's appetite. Gung Ho and Stalker worked quietly and finished the last of the reloading and cleaning of the weapons. Lady Jaye tried to concentrate on her reports, but her mind kept drifting to the recent ambush and the crisis of her friends.

"Where's Ron?" Duke asked Flint and looked around, noticing some of the other men missing. "And Clutch and Grunt?"

"Ron's in his tent. Al said he was in a daze. Clutch and Grunt are shocked at the loss of Ralph and the injuries to their friends. They disappeared into their tent," Flint informed. "Everyone is pretty upset about the whole thing but determined that this will not happen to us. Vic can't get those windows streak-free, and those weapons have been disassembled and reassembled countless times."

Duke listened and looked over the troops, shaking his head. Everyone was dealing with the loss and destruction of their teammates in their own way. "Yeah, we are in shock too. Hawk can't wait to get his hands on Bludd and Cobra," Duke said, recalling the General's vow as Bludd retreated with his band of snakes, virtually unscathed from the ambush. Running a frustrated hand through his hair, he continued, "Shana is blaming herself for not being able to take out the Cobra ground troops. She wouldn't leave the hospital until she got a chance to talk to Doc and Lifeline about all the injured. Jinx and Vince are waiting with her."

"Give Shana my love and a hug from me," Lady Jaye interrupted as she walked up to the two men.

"I will, Al. Which tent is Ron's?"

"That one," Flint pointed to the end tent.

"Okay, thanks Dash," Duke nodded, gave Flint's shoulder a pat, and then approached the tent. He tapped lightly on the flaps before opening the entrance. "Ron, you in here?"

Dusty looked up at the sound of Duke's voice. "Yeah, Top," he flatly answered. Watching the man enter and searching the First Sergeant's face, he asked, "So? Any update?"

Duke took a seat on one of the folding chairs and looked at Dusty. As much as he hated to do this, he knew the young trooper was wise beyond his years so he leveled with him. "She is out of surgery. She had a blood transfusion, and all the shrapnel has been removed. Some pieces were embedded in her lungs and nicked some other internal organs, causing internal bleeding. He and Lifeline are also impatiently waiting for the swelling to go down surrounding her brain."

"Please, give it to me straight, Conrad. Will she live?" Dusty begged.

"It's touch and go, Ron. I'm sorry. I wish I had better news for you," Conrad said, shaking his head and placing a hand on Dusty's arm. "We need to go. I want you to be able to see her before…if…" He snapped his mouth shut, angry with himself for thinking his thoughts.

"I understand," Dusty said. "How are the others?"

"Hector woke up, but Bill is still comatose," Duke answered as he stood and picked up Dusty's pack.

Dusty nodded and moved to pick up his sleeping bag. He walked out of the tent into the bright sun and hid his burning eyes. For the first time in his life, he hated the desert. His red eyes from the tears he cried watered from the hot, blustery sun. He started towards the jet in a trance. Everyone gave him and Duke instructions of, "Give Courtney a kiss from me, " "Give Hector a kick in the pants for me," "Give Bill a big howdy for me," and most importantly "Keep us informed." These phrases echoed as the two men climbed into the Sky Striker and took off.

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Thank you for reading my first chapter. Did you laugh? (I hope not) Did you cry? Did you like it? Did you abhor it? Will she live or will she die? I guess you'll have to check back for chapter 2. I am sorry about killing Steeler; I really like the dude. But since some of this is real and I lived the horror, I had to substitute a Joe(s) for the real life victim(s). 


	2. Anxiety

**Ambushed  
Chapter 2 – Anxiety  
By: Pink Brain**

At the Joe hospital,Lifeline walked back and forth between Wild Bill and Cover Girl's rooms, checking on their progress. Both remained in comas, and Cover Girl's brain was still swollen. Just as Lifeline exited Wild Bill's room and started towards Cover Girl's, Doc walked by. "Any change?" Doc asked.

Lifeline shook his head. "None," the quiet medic answered, rubbing his temples and trying to repress a yawn.

"Maybe you ought to go get some sleep, Ed. If something happens, I'm going to need you at full steam," Doc suggested, patting the medic on the shoulder.

Lifeline nodded. "Okay, just let me check on Courtney once more, then I'll go lie down."

"Sounds good. I'll wake you if there is any change," Doc reassured him before walking down to Shipwreck's room.

Lifeline approached Cover Girl's door and hesitated. Each time he entered, he was overcome with grief. He knew that the chances of her surviving were not great, but he remained hopeful. Pushing the door open, his ears rang as they heard the beeps of all the machines hooked up to the tank jockey. He checked her vitals and changed her intravenous bag, not allowing his eyes to look at her.

Finally done with his routine, he took his glasses off and laid them on the nightstand by the bed. Pulling up a chair, his eyes were drawn to the still form in front of him. He gently swiped his hand across her black and blue face, retrieving a few stray strands of long, auburn hair and securing them behind her ears to keep them away from her injuries. Her head was wrapped with white bandages, and he noticed that some of the bandages needed to be changed as they were starting to seep through with blood. Her complexion was pale as her body labored at healing all the internal injuries. Most of the beautiful former model's skin was covered with either bandages or bruises, cuts, and abrasions.

Lifeline heard the machine click and knew another dose of pain medication and antibiotics were being administered. He studied the numerous machines that were connected by tubes and wires to Cover Girl. He looked for anything new, any sign of life, but was disappointed, knowing that if it wasn't for the machines, she would be in the mortuary beside Steeler's body bag.

The medic glanced back at her and hoped that if he waited long enough she would wake up and smile at him or even tease him. How he wished that he could just hear her voice. His eyes traveled over her left hand. The engagement ring that normally graced her finger or rested by her dogtags was not there. His hand went to his pocket, and he retrieved the beautiful diamond ring that Dusty had given Cover Girl months ago. He stared at it, diverting his attention from its owner, before he put it back away for safekeeping. He refocused on the woman, whom his best friend was to marry in a month. "God, I'm so sorry Court. I'm so sorry Ron," he whispered, remorse evident in his voice.

"It's not your fault, Ed," a voice from the hallway quietly spoke.

Lifeline looked up and saw Jinx standing there. "I know, but I feel like I lied to them. I promised each one of them that their wedding would be peaceful and beautiful. Now look at them. Their world just got ripped apart and may never be repaired, and there is not a thing I can do about it but pray." The steady beeping of the monitors echoed in the room, seeming to punctuate his last statement. It was out of his hands.

"Hey, hey, stop blaming yourself. She's still alive, and you and Doc are responsible for that. She has a chance now. You did nothing to cause the ambush," Jinx said, closing the door and walking towards him. "You didn't lie to them. They both knew that as long as they were here, fighting Cobra, something could happen." She placed a comforting hand on the medic's shoulder. "Conrad radioed and said that he and Ron are a few hours from here. He didn't say much, but I picked up that Ron is a mess. Why don't you go rest so that you can be here for Ron when he arrives? I'll sit with her."

"I promised Doc that I would get some sleep, but I can't bring myself to leave. I'm their best man. I somehow feel responsible for this. Ralph's dead, Bill may be paralyzed, and Courtney may not make it. If anything happens to her before Ron gets here…" Lifeline mumbled the last words and then surprisingly, before Jinx could scold him for his thinking, he stood up and grabbed his glasses. Looking down at the tiny ninja, he said, "If anything happens, please beep me. And please let me know when Ron gets here."

"I will, Ed. Go get some rest, " Jinx said, giving the medic a hug and watching him leave. Once the room was empty, she walked closer to Cover Girl's bed. A lump in her throat grew, and a few tears trickled from the corners of her eyes. Taking her friend's hand, Jinx squeezed it gently and whispered a Japanese prayer to Shinto that she had been taught as a young girl by her parents. The prayer always seemed to comfort her in times of sorrow, need, and hopelessness.

_Humbly, I approach the kami in prayer.  
I pray to the kami of Tsubaki Grand Shrine; speaking with reverant (sic) heart,  
I present offerings and prayers.  
I come in humility and with great respect.  
_**_Kakema kumo kahikoki  
Tsubaki O Kami yashiro No omae o orogami matsurite  
Kashikomi kashikomi mo maosaku_**

_I beseech all the kami to accept these offerings that are brought with  
Gratitude for the blessings and the noble teachings  
That have been bestowed upon me  
_**_O kamitachi no hiroki atsuki mi megumi o katajikenami matsuri  
Takaki totoki misohie no mani mani_**

_Grant good health to my family; give them strength in spirit, mind, and body.  
Grant that I may benefit and serve all mankind_.  
_With awe and reverence, I humbly speak these words.  
_**_Ie kado takaku mi sukoyaka ni  
Yo no tame hito no tame ni tsuku sashime to  
Kashikomi kashikomi mo maosu_**

Wiping away her tears, Jinx released Cover Girl's hand and sat down. She looked around the clean, white room. The blinds were pulled to cut down on the outside glare, which made the room appear to be dark and gloomy, matching her and everyone else's feelings. She remembered spending many days in the hospital with her parents when they both passed away years ago.

As Jinx thought about her parents, a nurse stepped in to replace the bandages around Cover Girl's head. Jinx moved out of the way, giving the nurse and Cover Girl some privacy. She walked over to the window and peered between two slates, looking at the day. Jinx could hear the nurse softly talking to Cover Girl as she quickly but carefully removed the soiled bandages and wrapped clean ones over the various head wounds. Finishing, the nurse softly said, "Just press the call button if you need anything, Miss."

Jinx turned around and simply nodded, not trusting her voice to speak. She watched the nurse exit before she walked back over and smoothed her hand tenderly over the bandages. "Okay Courtney, you can open those pretty, brown eyes anytime now. We are all anxious to see you awake. Ron is on his way, and Shana is beside herself with guilt. Hector is awake now, demanding to see his Doll Face, but Bill is still sleeping. Ed feels like he betrayed you and Ron, but I set him straight." The teasing smile from her last comment faded as she paused for a moment. Growing serious, she continued, "I know you can beat this. You have your wedding to look forward to. How many nights did we stay up planning and shopping? We would piss Beach off discussing colors and flowers during PT instead of giving our undivided attention to his course. You can't let that all be for naught. I'm your maid of honor remember, and you will be mine next year when Vince and I marry. Everybody is sending their get well wishes. Al wants to be here so badly, but she is unable right now. They want to get their mission finalized so that they can all be home for the wedding next month. Come on, open those beautiful eyes, Court."

"Is it working?" A voice softly asked from the doorway.

Jinx shook her head before making eye contact with Doc. "No change, Doc." She took a few steps back, allowing him plenty of room to check over her friend.

Doc nodded sympathetically. "Give it some time, Jinx. I know we all want to see some improvement, but it all takes time." He noted Cover Girl's vitals and the time of the dressings being changed. "The bleeding is lessening, and her pulse is a little stronger than earlier," he commented, mumbling to himself, "although I wish it was stronger."

"She's a tough lady, Doc. It will improve. I know it will. How's Bill?" Jinx asked, changing the subject.

Doc looked over at the female ninja and smiled. "Bill woke up a little while ago. He is asleep again from the pain medications, but he was talking."

"That's excellent. Now, we just need our sleeping beauty to wake up. She can't die, Doc. She can't. I can't even accept that Ralph is dead. I can't lose my best friend too," Jinx softly said, fighting to hold back her tears.

Doc laid down his clipboard and wrapped his arms around Jinx. "Sshhh, child. Don't be thinking like that."

"But Ed said…" Jinx started.

"I know, and he is right. It is a very real possibility. Just like Bill in the other room may not walk again, Courtney, if she wakes up, may not be the same either. We all just need to pray for the best. Keep the faith," Doc reassured her.

Nodding, Jinx pulled back and wiped her eyes. "I will." She walked back over to the bed and repeated her prayer from earlier.

Picking up his clipboard, Doc forced a smile and left the room. In the hall, he took his glasses off and rubbed his eyes, wiping away the wetness from the beginnings of tears.

* * *

Ending Notes: The prayer spoken by Jinx is: Sacred Prayer by SHIN PAISHI and not reproduced in its entirety nor with the author's permission. Thanks to those of you who reviewed my first chapter. I'm glad you enjoyed it, at least to the point of wanting more. I also realized I had the "do not accept anonymous reviews" box inadvertently checked. I have remedied that problem. I have kind of built some of the friendships between the limited number of Joes in this chapter from some of the other stories authored by my fellow Joe fanfic writers. Also, please remember that the team is acting rather emotional because they are a tight-knit team, the best of the best, and one of their teammates is dead, one may die, and one may be paralyzed. I worked with medics and doctors, and they do have that compassionate, bedside manner. 

The next chapter will have many more Joes in it, including our favorite trooper finally being reunited with his gal. It's not all wine and roses. Love never is.


	3. Arrivals

**Ambushed  
Chapter 3 – Arrivals  
By: Pink Brain**

Scarlett sat at the cafeteria table, fidgeting with her coffee cup and package of crackers. Her left arm was in a full cast for two separate breaks to her arm, plus her elbow was pinned from a break to the joint. Falcon watched her idly playing with her food. "Shana, what's on your mind?" He asked softly, disturbed by her unusual quietness and restlessness.

"Nothing. Everything. Life. Death. You name it, I'm thinking of it," Scarlett replied flatly, not making eye contact with her brother-in-law.

"I would tell you that you are foolish to think what you are thinking, but I imagine this hits pretty close to home for you," Falcon said as he remembered his own memories of when his brother was injured. He was there and couldn't do a thing to stop Serpentor from nearly killing his brother. Doc and Lifeline had worked miracles that day, as they had countless times before and after. He hoped that this was a miracle-making day.

Nodding her head, Scarlett said, "I almost lost Conrad a few years ago, and now Ralph is dead, and Courtney may die, which will just destroy Ron. Not too mention that Bill may never walk again, and if Courtney does survive, how badly will she be messed up? If only I…"

Falcon interrupted her, saying, "Don't say it, Shana. Yes, Ralph is dead and nothing can be done about that, but the rest is speculation. Bill may recover just fine, and the same with Courtney. Damn it, we are Joes. That counts for something, right? The best of the best. We have seen and been through the worst of the worst."

Scarlett nodded and was about to open her mouth to speak when Hawk walked up to their table and interrupted. "Sorry, you two. Conrad just radioed. He is making his final approach and should be here within twenty minutes."

Falcon nodded. "I need to go find Jinx and tell her. Are you two going to meet them?"

Hawk glanced at Scarlett and then looked at Falcon. "Yes, we will. Will you let Doc know also?"

Nodding, Falcon got up and left as Hawk sat down across from Scarlett. "How are you doing, Shana?"

Shrugging her shoulders, she answered, "I don't know. It all is hitting really close to home right now." She sighed and then met the General's eyes. "Did Dial Tone ever come up with a conclusive reason why we were never alerted to Cobra's presence?"

Hawk nodded and began to explain what Dial Tone had found out.

--

Falcon took the stairs two and three at a time. It was his way of relieving his anger at the whole situation. His sister-in-law was being stubborn and bullheaded, blaming herself for something that was out of her control. A friend and teammate was dead. Two of his friends were lying in hospital beds with the distinct possibility of their lives being changed forever. The more he thought about it, the angrier he became. He jerked the door open and almost collided with Doc. "Sorry, Doc," he quickly apologized.

"Easy son. Where's the fire?" A surprised Doc asked.

"Nowhere. Hawk just told me that Conrad and Ron were about twenty minutes away. He wanted me to tell you," Falcon covered.

Relief washed across Doc's face as he heard the words that Falcon told him. Cover Girl had made no improvements. He and Lifeline had been praying for her to hang on and also praying that Duke got Dusty to the hospital STAT. His conscience was put at ease knowing that Dusty would make it to say goodbye, if that was what was going to happen. It was all in the hands of fate, and it may just be a matter of time. Time that she was quickly running out of. "Good. Jinx is in with Courtney. I'll go wake Ed and then go meet Conrad and Ron. Thank you for the information, Vince."

"You're welcome, Doc," Falcon acknowledged, watching the doctor walk away. He was gripped with an unshakeable fear, having seen Doc's odd expression. He continued to Cover Girl's room and tapped on the doorframe before he entered. "Hey, Jin. Any change?" He asked, hoping that what he read in Doc's eyes was wrong.

Jinx looked up from her deadpanned expression. Sighing heavily, she shook her head. "Nothing. Courtney hasn't moved. I even sang to her and prayed for her but still nothing. Doc's been in a couple of times checking on her, but…I have a really bad feeling about this Vin." Tears started to flow from her eyes. A ninja was supposed to be emotionless, but she could not hold her sorrow in any longer.

Concerned, Falcon quickly walked over to where Jinx sat and pulled her into an embrace, letting her sob on his chest. It was the first time that he had seen her this emotional. When her tears subsided, he softly said, "Ron and Conrad are in the area. They will be here soon. Doc went to get Lifeline."

Jinx nodded and dried her eyes and cheeks. She got up and looked at her friend, lying in the hospital bed, hooked up to tubes and monitors. She clasped Cover Girl's hand once more before she softly mumbled, "It doesn't even look like her, Vin."

Falcon had been trying to not look at Cover Girl but finally stole a glance at the woman in the bed. He kept his own shocked expression hidden from Jinx as he truthfully couldn't be sure that it was his teammate either. Instead, he calmly replied, "It's her. Ron will know it's her."

--

Doc gently shook Lifeline awake. "Ed, wake up."

Lifeline jolted awake. "Huh? What?" He looked up and saw Doc standing over him. "Oh no, Doc. Please don't tell me," the medic solemnly inquired, searching Doc's face.

"No, no," Doc said, shaking his head, realizing what Lifeline was thinking. "I'm sorry to startle you. I just wanted to let you know that Conrad and Ron are on their way. They should be here soon."

Forcing himself to begin to breathe again, Lifeline nodded. "Oh, okay. How are they?" He asked. The activities of the past day were still very real to him. The number of times that they almost lost Cover Girl in surgery scared him to death, and those memories taunted and haunted his brief sleep.

"Bill woke up but is sleeping again. There is no change on Courtney except for a tiny increase in her pulse and the bleeding is not as severe as earlier, internally or externally," Doc reported, grabbing a cup of coffee and downing it quickly. "Jinx and Vince are with her now."

"Thanks for the update. I better go meet them," Lifeline said, stretching his long legs and reaching to grab his folder.

"No Ed. I want you to stay here. Go check on Bill and then relieve Jinx and Vince. I want to speak to Ron first. I would like for you to be with Courtney when I bring Ron by."

Lifeline met Doc's concerned expression and nodded. "Okay, Doc," Lifeline agreed, grabbing his papers and heading towards Wild Bill's room.

Doc grabbed his folder and made his way to the garage to hopefully meet Duke and Dusty on their way in. He saw Scarlett and Hawk waiting by the doors. "Any sign of them yet?"

"Nope, but they are close. Within the next five minutes," Hawk informed. "Any news for me?" The General asked.

"Bill is out of his coma," Doc answered quickly but then his tone of voice lowered as he continued, "but no change on Courtney."

--

Most of the long flight to the hospital was flown in silence. Dusty only answered when Duke asked him a question, except when he asked his own question. "What exactly happened, Conrad?" The desert trooper managed to ask as a strong, sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach grew. He remembered some of the facts that Flint and the others had told him but was having trouble processing the horrible news.

Duke laid all the facts on the table, concluding with, "She took a lot of shrapnel. Most of it embedded itself in her back and chest. Her head injury came from the Mobat slamming into the side of her Wolverine, tossing the tank on its side. Her forehead collided with the instrument panel and God only knows what else. I honestly doubt if she knew what hit her." Duke's mind was still remembering that horrible battle. He painfully relived the force and horror of watching the Mobat crash into the Wolverine and flipping it over, just like it was a matchbox car. The image was entrenched in his memory. He was the only one to make it out without an injury, and that terrified him, especially when he thought of everything that happened. Selfishly, he kept putting his wife in Cover Girl's place and trying to feel what Dusty must be feeling. He didn't know how the kid was keeping it together.

Dusty didn't ask anymore questions as he tried to concentrate on preparing himself for the worst. They had not received any updated reports from Doc and that worried him. After they landed, he trudged behind Duke to the waiting jeep in a daze. On the short drive to the hospital, Dusty stared at the scenery and never even noticed when Duke pulled into a parking space and shut off the motor. He suddenly felt Duke's hand on his arm, shaking him gently and repeating his name. Looking over at the First Sergeant, Dusty nodded. "Thanks," he told Duke.

The two soldiers walked up to the doors, and Duke immediately saw Scarlett, Hawk, and Doc waiting for them. His heart sank, and he quickly turned to see Dusty stop dead in his tracks. "Ron, come on," Duke urged.

Hawk witnessed what was going on and headed outside. His ears heard Ron's questions. "Is she? Are we too late?"

The General looked at Dusty. "No, son. She is still the same. Doc just wants to talk to you before you see her."

"No! I want to see her now!" Dusty angrily growled, finally showing some emotion. He clenched his hands into fists.

"Ron, you really ought to talk to Doc first," Duke argued, silently wishing Dusty to settle down. The last thing he wanted to do was forcibly make Dusty listen to Doc and Hawk.

"I promise you, Ron. I'll only talk to you for a few minutes. There are a few things that you need to know," Doc conscientiously but sternly told Dusty as he and Scarlett walked towards the trio.

Dusty looked from face to face and realized that he didn't stand a chance at getting past them and seeing Cover Girl. Running his hands through his hair, he nodded. "Okay," he sighed in a defeated voice. He knew it wasn't going to do him any good to fight with any of them. It would just delay his arrival at his fiancée's bedside.

Hawk led the way back inside the hospital as Doc and Dusty followed. Scarlett studied Duke's face before she circled her arms around his waist and buried her head against his chest, beginning to quietly sob. Duke pulled her tight, letting a few of his tears slide down his face as well.

--

Lifeline walked into Wild Bill's room. The cowboy was sleeping, so he checked over Wild Bill's vitals, happy with the drastic improvements. The X-rays that he looked at showed that a few vertebras were fractured, but the spinal cord was not injured. He hoped that was true but knew some final X-rays needed to be ran to be absolutely sure.

Leaving Wild Bill's room, he walked into Cover Girl's room, only to be met with two pairs of eyes staring at him. He offered Jinx and Falcon a smile and asked, "Any change?"

"No," Jinx whispered.

The lump in Lifeline's throat grew, and he quietly stepped up to the bed. He looked over her head dressings and noticed that they were clean. "How many times have they changed these?" He asked, glancing at the chart and noticing that it was only documented as being changed once. 'The nurse surely forgot to notate the last time', he thought.

"Only once, right after you left," Jinx answered. "Doc is pleased that the bleeding has slowed down."

A small sigh escaped the medic as he quietly said, "I am too." His hand brushed across one of Cover Girl's cheek and felt the heat of the fever that had set in. He quickly glanced at her temperature and made a note of her condition for Doc. Mixed emotions raced through him. He was relieved to see her body reacting to the infection, trying to help heal itself, but he and Doc would have to watch Cover Girl's temperature closely so that it would not get too high.

Falcon watched Lifeline and then tugged on Jinx's arm. "Ron should be here soon. Let's leave," he suggested.

"I'm ready," Jinx agreed softly. Noticing Lifeline's expression, she asked, "Is something wrong?"

Absorbed in his diagnosis, the medic answered, "She has a fever that we will need to monitor closely." Realizing what he had just said, he glanced up at the two alarmed faces and quickly continued. "Don't worry. The equipment won't let anything drastic happen, and Doc and I will be around checking on her constantly."

"I know you will," Jinx said, squeezing Falcon's hand tightly in her own from worry. "We'll see you later."

"Okay, thanks for watching over her Jinx," Lifeline said.

"Sure, anytime," Jinx replied, following Falcon out of the room. "I want to see Bill for a minute," she told Falcon. As they walked across the hall into Wild Bill's room, Jinx explained to Falcon that Wild Bill had come out of his coma.

Lifeline watched the two of them leave before he turned his attention back to Cover Girl. "Hang on, Courtney. Please hang on," he whispered to her before reciting Psalm 23, a favorite Bible passage that his father had always told him to rely on and believe in. His voice was shaky and quiet as he struggled to speak the words ingrained in his memory. A few tears fell from his eyes. After he finished, he made the sign of the cross, like he had always seen his dad do, over her forehead and then her chest. He knew he was not a minister by any means, but he hoped that God would overlook that and bless her anyway.

Lifeline was just about ready to sit down when the door opened, and Dusty and Doc walked in. He could see Dusty's red eyes, and he was glad that his dark glasses were covering his own red eyes. Giving Dusty a sad smile, Lifeline whispered, "Ron, I'm so sorry."

Dusty's eyes darted around the room, looking at all of the machines hooked up to the woman that he loved more than life itself. His ears rang as they listened to the constant beeps and hums of the machines. He felt Doc nudge him gently, and his feet moved towards Lifeline and the bed. Hearing Lifeline speak to him, Dusty answered, "It is not your fault, Ed. Thank you for…" The desert trooper was at a loss for words. Doc had just told him the extent of her injuries, and the struggle to keep her alive on the operating table.

Lifeline put a reassuring hand on Dusty's arm then stepped back from Cover Girl's bedside to allow Dusty to approach her. Doc walked over to the other side of the bed and stood across from Dusty and Lifeline. He noticed the increase in Cover Girl's temperature and gave Lifeline a quizzical look. Lifeline met Doc's gaze and slightly nodded, confirming that he was aware of the high temperature and had duly noted it.

Speechless, Dusty finally allowed his eyes to settle on Cover Girl. A few tears escaped from his eyes, but he made no motion to wipe them away. With a shaky hand, he reached out and grasped her left hand. His other hand tenderly caressed one of her bruised cheeks, letting his eyes look over all the dressings on her head and seeing the bandages protruding from her gown. He fought the overwhelming grief worming its way into his heart and soul. She looked so frail and helpless, not at all like the determined, energetic, and strong-willed woman whom he had fallen so helplessly in love with. He could still hear the monitors beeping in the background, but they seemed to be miles away.

"Would you like to be alone with her for awhile?" Doc asked hesitantly.

"Yes please," Dusty nodded, not bothering to look up. He could not tear his eyes away from her.

Lifeline patted his friend on the back soothingly and said quietly, "We'll be right outside the door. If you need anything, just say the word."

"Thanks, Ed," Dusty replied in a monotone voice. He heard the two sets of footsteps walk away from him. "Courtney, please wake up. I need you with me," Dusty begged, allowing more tears to fall from his eyes.

The machines continued to beep, and Cover Girl continued to sleep. The young trooper buried his head next to her still body, letting the hospital blankets absorb his ocean of tears.

* * *

Thank you for the continued reviews and words of encouragement. It is wonderful to see the little emails that ff net sends when I have a new review. Please continue to review. I had extensive training this week, but I hope to get the next few chapters finished and uploaded soon. By the way, don't bother telling me if you think too many tears have been shed by the Joes. I have seen more grown men cry in my lifetime, including myself, and I will never forget the images. 

Next chapter: Steeler's funeral. Lady Jaye and a few others return from the desert for the funeral and to keep vigil.


	4. The Waiting Game

**Ambushed  
Chapter 4 – The Waiting Game  
By: Pink Brain **

Four days later, the steady procession of GI Joe team members coming and going from the hospital echoed on the floors. Wild Bill was starting on the road to a long but full recovery, and the team was stopping by to give him some moral support. Shipwreck was receiving plenty of visitors, but constantly asked to go see Wild Bill and Cover Girl or would sneak out to go visit them. Cover Girl had made no significant improvements, but the team continued to pray for her and support Dusty. They were also getting ready for Steeler's funeral.

Thunder, Spirit, Blowtorch, Quick Kick, Mutt, and Junkyard had been deployed to the desert team so that Grunt, Clutch, and Lady Jaye could return for the funeral. Flint had urged Lady Jaye to stay at headquarters after the funeral, which she had finally agreed to do. She was torn between being with her husband and being with her friends, but realized that Flint had a good group of soldiers and she was needed back home. She and the two guys arrived the morning of Steeler's funeral.

On the day of the funeral, Lifeline stayed at the hospital with Wild Bill, Cover Girl, and Dusty, who had not left Cover Girl's side since he got there, except for a quick ten or fifteen minute shower once a day, brief bathroom breaks, and when the nurses pushed him out to change her bedding and dressings. Shipwreck was granted a temporary leave from the hospital in Doc's care so that he could attend the funeral. Ace, Ripcord, Airborne, and Slip-Stream did the flyover, and Hawk presented Steeler's young daughter with the flag that had been draped across her father's casket. Steeler's ex-wife spoke a short eulogy followed by Clutch, Grunt, Hawk, Doc, and Duke paying tribute to their fallen comrade. A prayer was said for the continued recovery of the others who were injured, and a satellite was rigged so that Flint and his team could be part of the ceremony. Flint, Gung Ho, and Stalker each spoke a few words.

After the service, Lady Jaye thanked Mainframe and Dial Tone for setting up the satellite feed for Flint and the guys and then rode back to the hospital with Doc, Shipwreck, and Scarlett. "Does he leave her side?" Lady Jaye asked Scarlett.

"No," the counterintelligence operative answered. "Ron sits there day in and day out. Hawk and Conrad dragged him to the showers the first day, but after that, he willingly went when strongly advised." She looked out the window. "I just wish something would happened. There has been no improvement, except for the bleeding has mostly stopped, and at least the fever dropped to a more manageable and stable level. Her pulse is still so very weak."

Lady Jaye put a comforting arm across her best friend's shoulders. "Hon, Courtney will pull through this. I can feel it. Her body is just trying to heal itself."

"I hope you are right, Al," Scarlett answered, smoothing out her dress uniform. As the car parked and they all got out, Scarlett told Lady Jaye, "Just don't be surprised by what you see. Her bruises have really developed. Her face is quite colorful with black, blue, purple, and green blotches. Jinx keeps telling Vince and me that it isn't her. Vince got so upset at her yesterday that he threatened to remove the bandages from Court's head to reveal her auburn hair and prove that it's really her. Hawk threatened him with time in the brig if he **ever** said that again, and Conrad had a _private_ talk with his brother."

"Good God!" Lady Jaye exclaimed. "Where was Ron? I'm surprised he didn't flatten Vince."

"Thankfully, that all happened when Ron was out. Everyone is antsy though," Scarlett explained.

Lady Jaye nodded. "We weren't any better in the desert. Footloose or Clutch would call in hourly when they were out in the field, hoping for updates. Every time the phone rang or communicator buzzed, we all jumped and then held our breaths as we listened to the conversation. It was nerve-racking," she sighed. As they entered the hospital, she fixed her curly, brown hair, prompting her next question. "Did they have to cut her hair?"

"Fortunately not a lot, but they did have to shave a few spots. She'll just have to grow some bangs and contend with the layered look for awhile," Scarlett answered, giving Lady Jaye a weak smile.

"She's still one damn fine-looking Doll Face," Shipwreck commented from his wheelchair as Doc pushed him back to his room.

Both women smiled and continued towards Cover Girl's ICU room as Doc re-admitted Shipwreck. Scarlett tapped on the door, peeking through the glass window.

Dusty was sitting in his usual place beside Cover Girl's bed, holding her hand and staring into space. He heard the tap and then the sound of the opening door, followed by the clicks of heels on the floor. Looking towards the entrance, he saw Scarlett and Lady Jaye walk in, dressed in their uniforms. At first, he gave them a confused and surprised look, until he remembered that Steeler's funeral was today.

Scarlett smiled and asked, "How's our girl? Any change?" She knew the answer just by the fatigued look on Dusty's face but still remained hopeful of good news.

"The same," Dusty answered. "Although, I swear she squeezed my hand. The doctor on duty and the nurses tell me I was wrong. They checked her reflexes and these machines and said it couldn't have happened," he revealed dejectedly.

Lady Jaye stepped forward and said, "If you believe it happened, then it happened. These machines don't always register everything."

"Thanks, Al. Ed kind of alluded to that too. I just hope you both are right," Dusty stated. He looked at each woman's somber face before he asked, "How was the funeral? Sorry, I missed it."

"It was very moving, Ron. We had a wonderful prayer for Court and Bill, plus several of the guys spoke. Brad led the flyover, and Wally was the 'Fallen Solider'," Scarlett told him.

"Blaine set up a video feed via satellite so Dash and the guys could participate. A small group of greenshirts sang _Amazing Grace_," Lady Jaye added. "It was a very nice service."

"I'm glad. I liked Ralph. He had always been good to us," Dusty sighed, looking back at the mostly lifeless body in front of him. "I should have went," he mumbled quietly.

"It's okay, Ron. We all understood. Lance and Rob came back with me and said wonderful things on behalf of you and Court in their eulogy. No one thought any differently. Your place was here," Lady Jaye rebutted gently, following Scarlett closer to the bed.

Scarlett glided her hand over Cover Girl's leg, massaging it like Doc and Lifeline had instructed them. The movement not only helped keep the muscles flexible but also could be felt by the patient, or so Doc said. "Ron, why don't you go take your shower now? I know it is a little early, but Al and I are here. We will sit with her," she suggested.

Dusty looked at both of their faces. Even though it had only been four days, he had given up arguing with the team about when he should leave. He put his worn-out Bible on the nightstand and stood up. "Maybe I will. Call me if anything changes," he requested.

"We will," Lady Jaye promised.

"Thanks. I'll be back in a few," Dusty said, lifting Cover Girl's hand and gently kissing the top of it. "I'll be back in no time, my love," he whispered. Replacing her hand on the bed, Dusty quickly strode out of the room.

Scarlett and Lady Jaye felt their hearts tighten as they watched the scene unfold before them. They both knew from personal past experiences how hard it was to leave a loved one's bedside. It was never known what they might return to find. Scarlett stepped back so that Lady Jaye could approach the side of the bed where the chair was and walked around to the other side, beginning to gently rub the right leg.

Lady Jaye trailed her eyes over Cover Girl's battered body. She had to agree with Jinx. If she didn't know any better, she would swear this was not the female tank jockey from the GI Joe team. The former model's head was still wrapped with multiple bandages, and her face was swollen and bruised. A few bandages covered her right cheek, hiding the stitches from a deep laceration caused by flying debris. Tubes protruded from her nose, and her lips were bruised and swollen from previously inserted tubes via the mouth. A few cuts and abrasions were scattered around her eyes and nose. The ends of bandages could be seen sticking out of her hospital gown, and Lady Jaye could only imagine the extent of her injuries and wounds under her gown. The only parts of Cover Girl's body not scarred by the accident were from her waist down. The lower part of her body had remained protected from most of the shrapnel. Even when the Wolverine had been violently tipped and she had been thrown free, only mild bruising and abrasions occurred on her hips and legs.

"Hey there, Court. I finally made it here to whip you back into shape. I was told that you have been lazing around too much," Lady Jaye teased, but her green eyes began to mist over with tears. "Oh God, Court, I'm so sorry for this."

Scarlett paused, glancing up at her friend's choked up voice. "It's okay, Al," she softly murmured.

Lady Jay nodded and took a few calming breaths, before she recomposed herself and continued, "I wish I could do something." She paused again, watching Scarlett rub Cover Girl's leg and then said, "Well, besides kicking your stubborn fiancé out so that we could have us a girls' chat. Shana is here assaulting your legs. Can you feel her touch?" Her hand enveloped Cover Girl's, hoping to feel a responsive squeeze to her question. "You know what? This could be just like old times when the three of us would sit around and mercilessly pick on each other and force you to eat bonbons after you ragged on us for ignoring our hair and beauty treatments. But you need to wake up first or at least squeeze my hand. I know you can hear me."

Scarlett listened to Lady Jaye talk, smiling at the memories. What she wouldn't give to have Cover Girl sit up in bed and yell at her for always wearing her hair in "that ponytail", or even yell at Lady Jaye for "that unruly mop of hair".

--

Doc got Shipwreck settled in, even though the sailor complained that if he could be out for a few hours he should be released. "I can walk you know," he argued as Doc pushed his wheelchair into his room and helped him into bed. "Let me out of here, Doc. The nurses are being mean to me."

The doctor cocked an eyebrow and shook his head. "Tomorrow, and not a day sooner. If you keep arguing with me, I'll make it the day after tomorrow and put Beach Head in charge of your rehabilitation," Doc sternly warned him. "Besides, maybe if you tried to be a little nicer to the nurses, they would be nicer to you. And stop asking them out. They are all married," he huffed.

Shipwreck rolled his eyes and settled down in his hospital bed, muttering that he felt he was in jail. As Doc prepared to leave, he requested, "Tell Courtney I said 'hi', and I'll be down to visit her later."

"I will, Hector. Get some rest," ordered Doc as he left the sailor's room and stopped by Wild Bill's room to check on his progress. The cowboy was in physical therapy, but his charts looked promising. He left a few items on the cowboy's nightstand that some of the team had handed him after the ceremony and continued to Cover Girl's room.

Approaching the room, he glanced over her charts, wishing to see a change but not seeing anything different than the day before. Her fever had climbed the day that Dusty had arrived to the unhealthy limit of 103 degrees. The medical personnel had quickly worked to stop the fever from climbing higher. It would dip to 102 and then bounce back up to 103. Twenty-four hours later and with the appropriate medication and antibiotics, the fever had begun its gradual but steady descent. For the past two days, it now lingered around 100 to 101 degrees. Even though it was only a slight decrease, it put Doc and Lifeline's minds at ease.

Stepping inside, Doc overheard Lady Jaye teasing Cover Girl about bonbons. He shrugged his shoulders and really didn't want to know what she meant by that comment but couldn't help but smile. He also heard Lady Jaye's somber request. "You're right, Al. She can hear you. Just keep talking to her."

Lady Jaye nodded and then stated, "I just wish she would wake up."

"You, me, Red, and everyone else, but like I keep telling Ron, even though there are only slight improvements, there aren't any organs shutting down," Doc explained, walking over to the bed.

"So, she is not getting any better nor getting any worse, huh? How long will this last?" Scarlett asked the inevitable question that was on everyone's minds.

Doc shook his head. "I wish I knew. She could wake up right now or a month from now. I don't know."

"A month?" Both ladies muttered. "Wow."

"Let's hope not that long," Doc said quietly, thinking to himself, 'Let's hope she just wakes up sometime.' Remaining hopeful and keeping his fears deeply hidden, he continued, "I just keep reminding Ron that she is sleeping, and her body is healing. Her fever has remained stabilized, and her bleeding has lessened considerably. Even the X-rays of her chest this morning showed her lung already started to heal from some of the shrapnel piercing it. Her bruises are changing colors, which is also a positive sign. I know that everyone wants her to wake up now, as do Ed and I, but sometimes, sleep is better."

--

Lifeline exited an unlucky greenshirt's room, who had sustained injuries from combat training, just in time to see Dusty walking down the hall towards the parking lot. Quickly trying to catch up to him, he called out. "Hey Ron, wait up a minute."

Dusty stopped and looked back at his friend. "Hi, Ed. I really don't have much time. I need to shower and get back here," he said urgently, stepping backwards, moving towards the doors.

"I know. I just wanted to see how you are doing. Have you eaten anything since you have been here?"

"A little, but I'm not really hungry. Usually one of the guys or Jinx brings me a sandwich," the desert trooper answered, shrugging his shoulders and still backing towards the doors as Lifeline continued to follow him. If Dusty had been thinking levelheadedly, he would have realized that his actions were hurting those around him.

"Would you like to go out for a bite to eat tonight instead of a hospital sandwich? Maybe we could go down to that Mexican restaurant that just opened? I heard it is really authentic," Lifeline suggested.

"Nah, I would rather not," Dusty answered. "I really have to go. I'll talk to you when I get back." Dusty quickly turned around and walked out the doors.

"Okay," Lifeline mumbled, watching the door close and shaking his head. "This is not healthy, not healthy at all," he muttered to himself. He turned and made his way towards Cover Girl's room. As he approached it, Doc exited. He didn't have to ask to know that there was no change; he could read the disappointment in Doc's eyes. Instead, he asked, "Doc, you got a minute? I need to talk to you about Ron's behavior."

"Sure, Al and Shana are with Court right now. What's wrong with Ron?" Doc asked, falling in step beside the long-legged medic.

"I'm just worried about him. He never leaves except to shower. He doesn't eat or at least not healthy foods. I tried to get him to go out to eat tonight, but he refused and practically ran away from me," Lifeline revealed, leading the way into the lounge and leaning against the counter as Doc went over to the coffee pot.

Doc poured two cups of coffee. Handing Lifeline a cup, he dumped cream and sugar in the other cup and stirred it before he spoke. "Ed, I'm sure you are worried, but you have to understand that Ron is not the soldier or friend that you knew five days ago. His world is lying in a hospital bed, fighting for her life. Al and Shana asked me how long she could be like this. I told them that it could be another hour or another month. Or it could be another year, and that is if she ever wakes up. Her organs are still healthy, but that doesn't mean that they won't start shutting down. We both know this, and Ron knows this too. I have been brutally honest with him and have not sugarcoated the truth. He is spending as much time with her as possible. Plus, I'm positive that if Courtney is going to recover, then it's Ron's voice that will bring her back to us. Give him some time, Ed. Don't give up on him. He needs us, even if he starts to push away," Doc concluded, rubbing his temples and then downing half of his milky coffee.

Lifeline nodded, understanding what Doc was saying. "You are right. I just thought maybe a night away or even an hour away would do him some good. But if anything would happen to her, good or bad, and he wasn't here, I'd never forgive myself."

"I know you wouldn't, and neither would he." Doc finished the rest of his coffee, grabbed his charts, and said, "I need to go back on rounds. I'll see you later."

Lifeline read over his schedule, sipped at his hot coffee, and then headed down to therapy to see how Wild Bill was doing.

* * *

My sincere thanks for the reviews, and those of you reading along. I hope I haven't lost anyone yet. I have tried to include a broad range of Joes, but if anyone wants to see someone that I haven't mentioned yet, let me know. 

Thank you to MedicLifeline for answering a few questions for me. I know enough medical to be dangerous, but Medic was most helpful with providing me a few facts.

Next chapter - I do a time jump, and you will find out Cover Girl's fate.


	5. Awakenings

**Ambushed  
****Chapter 5 – Awakenings  
****By: Pink Brain**

Wild Bill was improving greatly and starting to joke around like he normally did, although he had developed a more prominent serious side since his recovery began. His therapy was brutal and left him winded at times, commenting that it was worse than Army PT. Movement and physical exercise had been made difficult with the cast on his leg and the back brace to support his mending spine. The fractures had begun to heal quickly as had some of his other bruises and abrasions. The cowboy tried to make daily trips to see Cover Girl; normally Scarlett and Lady Jaye or Clutch and Grunt would accompany him. Like Duke, he had witnessed the deadly explosion that took Steeler's life and nearly took Cover Girl's. When he looked at her, his mind would replay that final battle scene and make him shiver from the memories. He had blocked out his own injury, only remembering his chopper being hit and ejecting from the Dragonfly. The next thing he would remember was freefalling to the ground, but he never landed…at least not in his mind.

Lifeline stopped in to visit Wild Bill as the medic began his morning rounds. "So Bill, how was your night?" He asked, seeing the faraway look in Wild Bill's eyes.

"Well, I can't complain," the cowboy tried to cheerfully retort, masking his trip down memory lane, but then paused, causing Lifeline to arch an eyebrow at him.

"What is it, Bill?" Lifeline asked worriedly.

Wild Bill quickly waved the question off. "Nothing, my friend. How is Courtney doing?" He asked, changing the subject.

Lifeline knew that something was bothering Wild Bill but also knew that the cowboy could be very stubborn. "I haven't been down to see her yet, but there was no change overnight," he answered.

"You give her and Dusty a big 'howdy' from me, won't ya?" Wild Bill exclaimed with a big but forced grin.

Lifeline smiled. "I certainly will. Are you sure you're okay?"

"Heck yeah, partner. I was just remembering some things. I'll be fine. You get along little doggie and check on our sleeping beauty," Wild Bill persuaded Lifeline, motioning him to leave.

Deciding to honor the cowboy's wishes of not discussing what was perplexing him, Lifeline stood and nodded. "If you insist, then I'm out of here. Take care, and I'll be back to check on you a little later."

Wild Bill gave Lifeline a quick salute and a smile as the medic headed out the door. Sighing, the cowboy reclined in his bed and toyed with his dogtags. He was lucky to be alive and healing, and he said a silent prayer that his teammate would awaken today.

Lifeline walked down to Cover Girl's room. It had been fourteen days since the ambush and the resulting aftereffects. The tank jockey's condition had steadily improved, although she was still in a coma. Her wounds were beginning to heal, her blood pressure had stabilized but was still weak, and the swelling around her brain had begun to shrink. Dusty claimed that she would squeeze his hand every so often, but she had not opened her eyes. Some of the bruising around her face had begun to fade, and the bandages were mostly off her head, except for some smaller ones on her temples and forehead that were covering stitches.

Dusty had continued to maintain his vigil over Cover Girl. After she had stabilized, she had been moved out of ICU to a private room. A cot had been brought in so that Dusty could sleep a little more comfortably. He didn't always use the cot, falling asleep at her bedside sometimes, only to have the night nurse nudge him awake and direct him to use the cot. Occasionally, when Jinx, Scarlett, or Lady Jaye would stop by for their daily visit, Dusty would take a walk around the hospital grounds, stopping by to check on Wild Bill's progress. He continued to leave the grounds once a day to shower and change his clothes, and he had requested a leave of absence while he waited for Cover Girl to heal. Hawk had granted the leave without thinking twice.

The General had stopped by a few times to check on the progress of his troops. His anger grew each time he saw Wild Bill struggling with his therapy sessions and Cover Girl lying in her bed. At times, the lifeless body of Cover Girl was more than he could stand to see, triggering memories of when his mother died in a tragic car accident when he was a young boy. He would curl his hands into two fists and vow that Steeler's death and the injuries to Wild Bill and Cover Girl would be avenged, _personally_, if he ever got the chance to get his hands on Cobra.

Stepping into the room quietly, Lifeline looked solemnly at Dusty before he asked, "How are you two doing this morning?" It tore at his heart when he saw the young trooper's weary and worried face.

Dusty looked up at his friend and nodded. "Just about the same, but I think she has more color in her face today," the desert trooper said. "Her hand seems warmer, and she seems to respond more frequently to my voice."

Smiling, Lifeline stepped closer and checked her vitals and temperature. "Well, the good news is her fever is at 99.8 degrees today. Everyday it keeps dropping, and I believe you are right. She does have some pink cheeks." Taking her right hand in his, he softly said, "Good morning Courtney. Good news today. Your temperature is finally below 100 degrees, and your cheeks have a natural color to them. Those nasty purple and green bruises are going away. Even some of the wounds on your back and chest are beginning to heal. Doc wants to take a few of the bandages off your lower back today. Your X-rays from yesterday were positive. Your brain activity is up, and your lungs are clear of fluids and blood," Lifeline explained to her but also filling in Dusty on her progress. "I think today would be a good day for you to open your eyes. What do you think? It has been two weeks since those brown eyes saw daylight, and I know they want to see your fiancé. He is getting very impatient with me," Lifeline kindly teased, winking at Dusty and seeing Dusty's grateful smile.

As Lifeline watched the heart monitor, he thought he felt her hand move. "That's a girl," he softly praised. "Try to squeeze my hand again." He glanced over at the grinning desert trooper.

"See, I told you, Ed," Dusty quickly blurted out, standing up. "Court, honey, please wake up." The machines continued to beep their same steady tone. Dusty gently stroked her cheek, and Lifeline felt another weak squeeze.

"Ron, do that again," Lifeline told him. "She is responding to touch, an excellent sign."

Dusty nodded, caressing her cheek again and wiping back some of her hair off her face. His fingers carefully avoided the stitches on her cheek and those on her temples, where her head had hit the controls of the Wolverine. Lifeline watched the trooper, noticing that his eyes only held love for her, and he didn't care about the stitches or the scars that would remain after she healed.

After ten minutes of touches and only one more squeeze, Lifeline replaced her hand on the bed and stood up. "Ron, I'll be back in an hour. Get some rest. This is a good sign that she is starting to come out of her coma, but it may still take some time," he cautioned. "Let her rest now."

Dusty looked up and nodded. "Thanks, Ed," he said, running his hand down her arm and taking a seat. He yawned but kept his eyes focused on her, listening to Lifeline's retreating footsteps. "Courtney, please wake up," he begged in a hushed whisper. Feeling his eyelids droop, he succumbed to sleep, laying his head on the side of her bed, his hand on her arm and her fingers next to his hair.

As he slept, he dreamed. He dreamed he heard her soft voice and felt her warm touch. The feel of gentle fingers in his hair made him open his eyes. He slowly lifted his head, wondering who had come in and was playing with his hair. To his surprise, the room was empty, but his eyes were drawn to the pair of eyes staring back at him. The same eyes, which had been closed for two weeks, were now open, watching his movements. "Courtney?" He queried, afraid it was a dream.

The eyes stared straight ahead but blinked at the sound of his voice. Dusty raised his head more and saw that her eyes followed him. He reached a shaky hand out towards her but stopped when her eyes grew wide with fear. "Honey? It's okay. Don't be afraid," he quickly said, his heart beating rapidly in his chest. He didn't know what to do as terror gripped him. He swallowed hard and reached for the call button. After trying to find it by touch, he darted his eyes away from hers, looking for the button. Pressing it, he looked back at her only to find her eyes closed again.

Lifeline and a nurse ran in as Dusty's shaking voice called out Cover Girl's name again. "Ron, what happened?" Lifeline quickly asked, seeing his friend visibly upset and paled.

"She…she," he stuttered. "She opened her eyes for a brief second." He looked at Lifeline. "Ed, I swear she did. I saw her. She watched me, and…and she was afraid of me," he sorrowfully confided, slumping back down into his chair, heartbroken.

The nurse checked the reports while Lifeline questioned Dusty. "Ron, look at me," he ordered. "Don't take it personally. She opened her eyes, I believe you. What else did she do? Did she speak? Did she move?" He glanced up at the nurse, who nodded a confirmation that activity had been registered. Both personnel exchanged a relieved smile, and then Lifeline returned his attention to Dusty. "Come on, Ron. Tell me."

Dusty finally met Lifeline's concerned look. "I fell asleep and dreamed that I could hear her voice and feel her touch. I felt a tug on my hair and woke up. Her fingers were caressing my hair, and she was staring down at me. I could see her eyes get big as I raised my head, but then I reached out to touch her and fear flashed in her eyes. I think she wanted to back away but couldn't," he revealed.

"And then what?" Lifeline asked.

"I tried to ring the nurse but couldn't find the damn call button without looking for it. When I looked back at her, her eyes were closed. Then you both came in." Dusty paused then asked, "Ed, what happened? Is she still in a coma? Why was she afraid of me?"

Lifeline could hear the hurt in the trooper's voice. "First of all Ron, she was not afraid of you like you think. She is very confused and disoriented. We will have to run some tests to see if she is still comatose or not. I believe that she is coming out of it, but we have to wait and see. Like I said earlier, it is going to be a long road."

Dusty nodded and looked back at Cover Girl. "I hope you are right, Ed," he stated quietly.

Lifeline nodded. "Come on. Let's go get some coffee. The nurses need to change her bedding and dressings."

"But what if she wakes up again? I want to be here," Dusty argued.

As Dusty was focused on Lifeline, Cover Girl opened her eyes again. She saw the nurse and two men, and she could hear their voices. She understood they were talking about her, and she heard them mention leaving. "No," she tried to say but her throat was parched and nothing but a soft cough came out.

"Lifeline," the nurse abruptly interrupted, causing both men to cease their conversation and look at her. "She tried to talk," the nurse informed, nodding to Cover Girl.

Dusty and Lifeline both looked at the woman lying in the hospital bed. Her eyes were open, and they looked different from when Dusty saw them moments ago; they were softer. "Courtney," Dusty immediately sighed, stepping closer to the bed with Lifeline right beside him.

Cover Girl watched the two men approach her. This time when Dusty reached out to touch her, she didn't try to shrink away. His tender touch calmed her, and her eyes closed again, lapsing back into an easy sleep.

* * *

Sorry, short chapter; some of you know why. Thank you for the reviews, and thank you to those of you who took the time to email me. I have taken all of your words of encouragement to heart and appreciate your support. I was trying to give you all a great story, weaving in some real life experiences, and editing and revising as I went. A special thanks to my wife, who suggested that, in light of recent events, instead of writing what really happened to my comrades when their caravan was attacked and they all perished, I could change "history" so to speak. 

Please be patient as I work out the remaining chapters. Sorry, no more next chapter updates either. I thought they would be of interest to some people, but my plan backfired. My fault and one I will not make again. Please continue to review, and I'll have the next update out as soon as I can. PB

God Bless the USMC. My prayers are with them and all military families.


	6. Decisions

**Ambushed  
****Chapter 6 – Decisions  
****By: Pink Brain**

Two days after Cover Girl opened her eyes for the first time, Doc saw the need to put her back into a medically induced coma. Her recovery had slowed considerably since she was more alert and trying to move. The physical strain of moving and trying to talk had caused her fever to climb and her body to be unable to concentrate solely on healing. Dusty knew something was wrong, and it pained him to watch her struggle, not to mention that both of her arms had restraints on them so that she would not pull out her breathing tube or any intravenous lines. He sat by her side and talked to her, trying to keep her calm, but Doc and Lifeline were very concerned and talked about their ultimatums.

Doc asked Duke and Scarlett to come in a little earlier than their normal visiting time on the sixteenth day after the ambush. He wanted to talk to Dusty, and the concerned trooper refused to leave Cover Girl alone. When the Hausers showed up, Doc went with them to greet Dusty. Knocking on the door, Dusty looked up as Duke, Scarlett, and Doc entered. His face still showed lines of worry and confusion. "Ron, I need to talk to you," Doc said. "Shana and Conrad will stay with Courtney."

Dusty looked between the faces of the three soldiers and teammates. "Okay, but can I ask what about?"

All eyes went to Doc, as they waited for him to explain.

The doctor looked at the three faces before he nodded. "About Courtney. There are a few things we need to discuss, and since you are her next of kin, more or less, this is a decision that I want to talk to you about. If you would prefer after I debrief you of Courtney's condition, I can talk to Hawk and have him make the decision since he is her Commanding Officer."

Dusty swallowed hard and stood up. Glancing back at Cover Girl, he stroked her cheek then looked at Duke and Scarlett. "She just fell back to sleep after being awake about an hour. She stayed relatively still as long as she could hear my voice. I read her some letters that mom sent plus a letter from Footloose," he informed them.

"That's good, Ron. She needs to hear that everyone is pulling for her" Scarlett said. "We'll keep her calm if she should wake up before you get back. The only time I've noticed her get frustrated is when the nurses come in. I can't say I blame her though."

Dusty nodded and followed Doc down to a private conference room. "Is Hawk or Ed going to be here too?" Dusty asked.

"No, just you and I. Ed has the day off but will be in this afternoon I'm sure," Doc answered. "Please have a seat." He motioned towards a chair and then sat down beside him. "Ron, Courtney is healing. I know that eases your mind greatly. She is awake and more alert. However, she is not healing as quickly as she has the last few weeks because she is fighting the healing process. I know you have seen it. She gets very frustrated and tries to talk, causing her to cough." He paused a moment.

"Can't you take the breathing tube out so she won't fight it?" Dusty asked, still unsure why Doc would need his permission to remove a tube. "Then you could take off those restraints. I hate seeing them. It makes me feel like we don't trust her, and she pulls against them as well. She's going to rub her wrists and arms raw from the friction."

Doc nodded. "Yes, we could remove the breathing tube, but she can't be off the vent. That will just add more stress to her body instead of letting it focus on healing, and you know good and well those restraints are for her safety not because of trust," Doc quickly refuted, trying to stay calm. "My concern, and Ed's, is that she needs to keep healing. The only way to properly allow that is to force her back into a drug-induced coma, paralyzing her from moving."

Dusty quickly interrupted, "Coma? Paralyze her? You are kidding me, right?"

"Listen to me, Ron. She will still be able to hear you, but she will not be able to move her arms and head like she is now. Ron, if we don't do this, it is going to take months for her to recover. I don't want that, and I'm sure you do not want that either." Doc watched the trooper's face. "I know it is a tough decision, but it really is for the best. The more she moves, the more she slows her body from healing. Her fever is back up to 100.5 degrees, and Ed compared some of her test results from last week to yesterday. Her healing progress has slowed tremendously."

Dusty looked away from Doc, starring at a picture on the wall. "You already talked to Hawk about this, didn't you?" He accused the doctor, not looking at him.

"No, I haven't. Ed and I talked about this last night, and he felt I should talk to you first. At least let you know what we are dealing with. Like I said, what I just suggested to you is my recommendation. I will go to Hawk and present this same scenario if you want him to make the decision." Doc moved and placed a comforting hand on Dusty's arm. "Look, I know what you are thinking. You are thinking that she will be angry with you or worse. You think you are betraying her somehow, but you are not. This will be the best thing that you could do for her. She'll understand, and I will tell her if you want me to."

Dusty looked down at Doc's hand, which was still resting on his arm, before meeting his gaze. "I trust you, Doc," he quietly whispered, turning away from Doc. "Do it."

"Thank you, Ron. Would you like to be present when I tell her?"

"Yes," Dusty croaked.

"Ron, this is the right decision. I promise you. The dosage of the drug I administer will be given for the next ten days. I'll decrease the dosage after that for a few days so we can allow her to come out of the coma. After she starts to move again, we'll re-evaluate her and see if we have to do it again or let nature take its course."

Dusty looked back at Doc. "Again? You may have to do it again?" He incredulously asked.

"It is a possibility. We will wait and see. As of right now, given her past healing progress, I don't foresee it." Doc explained as he stood up. "Come on. Why don't you go take your shower and change? I'll stop by in an hour and see if she is awake. I'll explain it to you both, and we'll start the process."

Dusty stood and followed Doc out of the room with a heavy heart. He drove to his quarters in a trance and thought about his decision as he showered, shaved, and changed. For the first time since the ambush, he sat down on his couch, staring at the empty room of his neglected quarters. "Please forgive me, Court," he murmured in the seclusion of his place.

It was thirty minutes later before he returned to the hospital. Duke and Scarlett both anxiously looked up at him. "Is everything okay, Ron?" Duke asked.

Scarlett glanced at her watch, noting that it had been nearly an hour since Dusty had left.

"Yeah. Sorry I took longer. After Doc and I talked, I went home, showered, and sort of looked around my place," the trooper revealed.

Duke and Scarlett exchanged a concerned look but didn't ask any more questions. "She is still sleeping. Your mom called, and Wally and Rob stopped in for a little bit."

"Thank you both," Dusty told them, walking over to the right side of Cover Girl's bed.

The Hausers noticed that he was acting strangely. "Are you sure you are okay?" Duke asked again.

"Huh? Oh yeah, I'll be fine," he reassured them. "We'll be fine."

"Okay, we'll see you later then. Call if you need anything," Scarlett told him, following Duke out to the hall. Stopping her husband, she commented, "I don't think he is fine. He looks like he just signed her death warrant. What the hell did he and Doc discuss?"

"I don't know, but I think maybe we ought to stick around for a while. I'm going to tell the nurses to watch her monitors closely," Duke said, walking down to the nurse's station.

Scarlett took a seat in a chair across from Cover Girl's room. The waiting room was quiet, and she was lost in her thoughts when Doc approached her.

"What's wrong, Red?" He asked, noticing the creased brow and worried expression.

Snapping out of her daze, she looked up at Doc. "Hi Doc. Nothing much. Just worried about Ron. He just got back a few minutes ago and is acting very strange."

Doc arched an eyebrow as he listened to Scarlett. He found it odd that Dusty had just returned when he normally was only gone fifteen or twenty minutes. "I'll go check on him."

"Doc," she began, stopping him as he turned to leave. "Is everything okay? I mean with Courtney?"

Doc offered her a reassured smile as he stepped back to her. "Yes, everything will be fine. I told Ron we had to stop her from moving around so much so that she could heal. The only way to do that is to put her back into a coma, paralyzing her so she can't move. Ron approved, but apparently, his conscience is weighing heavily on him. I might have to talk to him again."

Duke walked up and heard the end of the conversation beginning with the word, 'paralyzing'. He instantly received a chill since Wild Bill faced that diagnosis a few weeks ago. "What does that mean? The paralyzing part."

Doc looked over at Duke. "It means she will be able to hear you, but she won't be able to speak nor move. In some patients, a few twitches from their fingers and blinking of their eyes may happen, but Courtney won't be able to move her arms or her head like she has been trying to do. By not focusing on moving, her body will get back to healing, which is what we want."

Duke nodded, understanding how Dusty must be feeling. "On paper, that sounds like a good thing, but now I can see why Ron is acting so strangely. You just asked him to make the decision to put her back into a vegetable state." He saw Doc's disapproving glower at Duke's choice of words but shrugged it off.

Doc sighed as he glanced at the room where Cover Girl and Dusty were. "I better go see what's going on. Thanks for coming in early."

"Do you need us to stick around a bit longer?" Scarlett asked. "Moral support, maybe?"

"No, you two can leave or go check on Bill. He is in his room. Ron's torn over his decision. I told him that I would tell Courtney what I'm going to do, and I think that after that, Ron will be better. I'll wait and see." Doc started to walk away. "I'll see you both later," he hollered over his shoulder.

The Hausers uttered their goodbye as they watched Doc knock on the door before he disappeared into the room.

After Duke and Scarlett had left Cover Girl's room, Dusty had walked over to the left side of the bed and picked up Cover Girl's hand. She squeezed it and fluttered her eyelids open. Instinctively, she tried to move her arms and rolled her head to the side. She tugged one arm against the restraints, and Dusty could see her eyes narrow with confusion. "Honey, don't move around so much," he whispered, taking his right hand and gently stroking her cheek. "Lie still, please."

Cover Girl looked up at him and a muffled noise escaped her mouth followed by a raspy cough. Dusty tried to sooth her, but he didn't know what to say. He knew that what Doc wanted to do was for the best. If he wasn't sure when he talked to Doc an hour ago, he was positive now. Just watching her strain against the tube and restraints broke his heart. When the door opened, he glanced up and met Doc's eyes. Dusty nodded confidently, signaling Doc that the decision was made, and he was going to stand by it.

Doc smiled at him and looked at Cover Girl. "Hey, pretty lady. What are you up to today besides trouble?" He jokingly asked, checking the monitors and groaning inwardly. He read the spikes in her heart rate and knew she was fighting against the breathing tube again. His eyes darted to Dusty then stopped at Cover Girl. "Courtney, we need to talk." He stretched a hand out and felt her forehead. The heat radiated off her skin, and he took a clean cloth and wiped her forehead dry. He stood beside Dusty as he began to tell Cover Girl his plan. Speaking assertively and knowledgably, Doc explained what he wanted to do and the reasons why. He concluded by saying, "I don't want to make you feel bad, but you need to stop moving, and that will not happen if you find you are able to move."

Cover Girl listened to Doc, gripping Dusty's hand tightly in hers and glancing between her fiancé's sorrow-filled eyes and the confident eyes of her doctor. When Doc initially mentioned returning her to a medically induced coma, she shook her head fearfully; but as he explained the healing progress and how it had deteriorated some since she had awaken, her fear turned to sorrow. If she would have been strong enough to cry, she would have, but her tear ducts could only form a few tears for her to shed.

Doc wiped them off her face. "I'm sorry, Courtney. I really am. I just want you to heal. I know you want to get out of here. Do you understand what I want to do? It's not going to harm you. You still will be able to feel and hear us."

Dusty held her hand tightly as he watched her reactions and listened to Doc, his heart breaking even more than before. When Doc finished, the young trooper quietly spoke, "I'll be right here with you every step of the way, just like I was before. I'll never leave you alone. I promise."

Cover Girl's eyes settled on Dusty, giving his hand another squeeze before she looked back at Doc. Inside, she was crying, but on the outside, she was a shell of the woman she used to be. Being unable to move terrified her but hearing Dusty's promise to stay by her side calmed her. Mustering her strength, she slowly nodded her head.

Doc smiled, patting her on the shoulder. "Good girl, I'm glad to hear it. I really would like to begin the process now. The sooner we start, the sooner you can start to heal again." He glanced from Cover Girl's blank stare to Dusty.

"Do you think you could wait until Ed shows up?" Dusty timidly asked for no other reason than the simple fact that Lifeline's presence would confirm that he and Cover Girl's friend had full faith and agreed with this course of action.

"I'm here, Ron," Lifeline replied softly, stepping away from the door. He had come in as Doc was explaining the procedure. He just stood quietly, dealing with his own sorrow and regret but knowing that this was the best thing to do.

Dusty and Doc both looked over and watched Lifeline step up to the bed. The tall medic smiled at his friends, before looking at Cover Girl and stroking her cheek. He wiped away a fresh tear, trickling down her cheek. "Don't cry, Court. It's only for a few days," he exaggerated, knowing it would last almost two weeks. "We'll still be here. You'll be able to hear us," he reassured her.

Cover Girl stared back at Lifeline's face, noticing his calm and confident demeanor. She squeezed his hand in understanding before she looked towards Doc and Dusty. She had so many questions but was unable to ask any of them. She didn't even know how she ended up in the hospital in the first place and why her body hurt, nor did she fully understand why they wanted to put her into a coma again. She didn't notice Doc readying her intravenous line until she felt Dusty release her hand. Looking over, she watched Doc slide a needle into one of the lines before the doctor met her gaze briefly. She couldn't read his eyes because of his glasses, but his reassuring smile comforted her. She looked at Dusty and noticed how sad he looked. She wanted to tell him it was okay. She wanted to tell him so many things, but only that aching cough came out. As soon as Doc emptied the vial, Dusty clasped her hand again. She gripped his hand firmly, knowing that this would be the last responsive touch he would receive from her for a few days.

The three men stood in silence. Doc watched the machines, and Lifeline looked at a spot on the opposite wall. Dusty stared down at his fiancée, slowly feeling her hand loosen its grip. He fought back his tears of betrayal and sorrow; the guilt was overpowering him. As soon as Cover Girl closed her eyes and her hand went limp, he quietly mumbled, "Ed, can you stay with her for a bit? I need to get out of here."

"Of course, Ron," Lifeline quickly answered but worriedly asked, "Are you going to be okay?"

Gently releasing her hand, Dusty nodded and hastily departed the room. Walking past the elevator, he jerked the stairwell door open and began to ascend the stairs, heading for the roof. Once he reached the top, he violently shoved open the door, walked over to the edge of the hospital, and screamed out his own frustrations and building anger, vowing that the next time he got a hold of Cobra, someone was going to pay dearly.

Back in Cover Girl's room, Doc and Lifeline watched Dusty leave. As Doc turned to follow, Lifeline stopped him. "No Doc. Let him be. I've known him for a long time. He just put the woman he loves back into a coma. Give him some time to deal with his emotions," Lifeline reasoned, surprising Doc.

"And if you wouldn't have promised to look after her, you would be hightailing it after him right now," Doc argued back.

"Probably," Lifeline admitted as he gave Doc a sheepish smile.

Doc chuckled then turned serious. "You know there would have only been one thing harder for him to do. Thank God we never had to make that decision."

Lifeline's smile faded as he looked back at the now still form of the tank jockey. "Yes, there would have been, and I'm sure he realizes that."

Doc nodded and exited the room, leaving Lifeline alone with Cover Girl. The medic laid her right hand down and walked over to the left side of the bed, sitting down on the chair. He grabbed Dusty's worn Bible and opened it to the Book of Proverbs, beginning to quietly read aloud, knowing that Cover Girl could hear him.

* * *

Okay, I was going to skip ahead a few weeks, but one of my reviewers triggered an idea. After some correspondence and discussions with MedicLifeline and some of my teammates, I decided to go into a little more detail with what was going on between Dusty, Cover Girl, and her condition. Thank you to everyone reading, reviewing, and commenting. Also thank you to those of you whom I asked your input. 

Note to all readers: This is fiction, aka not 100 percent real. I'm not expecting anyone to read this and then run to their local hospital and tell the families of coma victims that this is what will happen. It is a story and thus partially fiction. But whether or not it is absolutely correct, it is still being written in good taste and from a realistic point of view.


	7. Frustration

**Ambushed  
Chapter 7 - Frustration  
By: Pink Brain**

The frustrated desert trooper sat beside the tank jockey's bed. It had been fifteen days since Doc had convinced him to put Cover Girl back into a drug-induced coma. Five days ago, Doc had substantially reduced the dosage of the drug being administered, which kept her in the coma. Dusty expected his fiancée to awaken like she had the last time; but thus far, he had been met with nothing but disappointment. Even a few days later, when Doc ceased giving her the drug, she still had not begun to respond to his touch, his voice, or even the nurses' movements when they changed her bedding and attended to her cleanliness, healing injuries, and bedsores. Aggravated by the lack of change in Cover Girl's condition, Dusty got up from his chair and walked over to the window to stare at the world as it began its new day.

Lifeline was on his morning rounds when he stopped by to check on Cover Girl and Dusty. The medic prayed that he and Doc had not made the wrong decision by rendering Cover Girl comatose after she had rallied a few weeks ago. He kept reassuring himself that it was the right decision but admittedly was concerned that Cover Girl had not made any signs of coming out of the coma. Her injuries had healed, except for a few of the more serious ones. Those were improving daily, and Doc was happy with their progress. The swelling around her brain was completely gone, her temperature was normal, and her lungs were clear from any fluid. Doc had removed the breathing tube the day before and had been pleased that her body had remained stable and had not reacted badly to the added stress of breathing on its own.

Walking into the room, Lifeline looked at the empty chair before his eyes found the young soldier standing by the window. "How's Courtney this morning?" He asked cautiously, knowing that Dusty was stressed and worried.

Dusty looked over at Lifeline and then returned to stare outside, contemplating his revenge on Cobra. Finally, he flatly said, "There's no change, Ed."

Lifeline cringed at the sound of Dusty's voice. He needed to talk to his friend; but first, he needed to check on Cover Girl. Walking over to the bed, the medic checked the monitors and charted her vitals. As he worked, he softly spoke to her. "Good morning, Courtney. It is another beautiful day." As he listened to her lungs, he was pleased that her breathing was still clear and her heartbeat was strong. Finishing his work, he laid his clipboard on the nightstand and picked up her hand. Intravenous lines were still attached to her, feeding and hydrating her along with a line to monitor her heartbeat. As he continued to talk to her, he wished that she would squeeze his hand like she had done two weeks ago.

Dusty listened to Lifeline, and his bitterness and anger continued to build. Unable to listen to the one-sided conversation any longer, he blurted out, "She doesn't answer. She doesn't react and never moves. You and Doc promised me that she would wake up again after you put her back into that coma and look at her." The trooper stalked back to the bed, his nostrils flaring with anger. "You lied to me. Why hasn't she come out of the coma? Her injuries have healed. You said so yourself. So why is she still sleeping?"

"Ron!" Lifeline immediately defended himself shocked at Dusty's sudden outburst but expecting it. "Lower your voice. This is a hospital," he ordered. "Neither Doc nor myself lied to you. She is healing, and if I knew why she hasn't come out of the induced coma, I would tell you," he refuted, trying to calm down and keeping his voice low.

"You overdosed her, didn't you?" Dusty accused loudly.

"We did not," Lifeline argued. Standing up, he released Cover Girl's limp hand and strode over to the trooper. He was well aware that in Dusty's state of mind, he could get decked, but his fears didn't stop him. Grabbing Dusty by the arm, he quietly but firmly said, "Come on, we need to talk about this. You do not need to be shouting in this room."

Upon hearing the loud voice in the room, a nurse ran in and looked at both men worriedly. "Is everything okay, Sgt. Steen?"

"Yes, Capt. Winters. We just need to have a chat," Lifeline informed the nurse before glaring over the top of his glasses at Dusty. "Come on, Ronald. We will discuss this outside of this room."

Dusty was taken aback at the sternness in Lifeline's voice. Rarely had he or anybody seen the medic get upset. Trying to wrench his arm free from his friend's strong grip, he continued to seethe with anger and growled, "Unhand me!"

"Only if you stop acting like a caged lion ready to strike out at anyone who innocently walks by. Do you think that Doc and I are pleased with this turn of events? If you think that than you are wrong," Lifeline replied, watching the trooper's face for signs of retaliation. Not seeing any, he released his hold on Dusty's arm. "Ron, let's go talk. Please. This arguing is not helping Courtney. She can hear us, and her body can pick up on the angry vibes."

"Well maybe that will make her wake up," Dusty fumed and immediately regretted his words. Casting his eyes downward, he shook his head. "Oh God, what did I just say? I didn't mean that," he solemnly stated.

Lifeline nodded. "I know you didn't. Let's go," the medic said, leading Dusty out of the hospital room and leaving Cover Girl alone for the first time since the ambush. He knew that the day they put Cover Girl back into a coma, Dusty had gone up to the roof. He also knew that Dusty frequented the roof since then. It was a good place to vent, and it would not disturb anyone. He steered Dusty to the elevator and punched the button for the roof.

Dusty followed along with a heavy heart. He had this horrible fear that he had just condemned the woman he loved and said things to Lifeline that he didn't mean, but pride refused to allow him to apologize to his friend. When the elevator doors opened, he stepped off and shoved the outside door open like he had so many times since the first day he came up here. "I'm going to kill every last one of those Cobra snakes starting with Major Bludd," he vowed in anger, walking away from Lifeline.

Concerned, Lifeline followed. "Ron, your anger is eating you up. You have to let this vengeance go. It is not helping you or Courtney. I know you…."

"You do not know how I feel or what I'm going through," Dusty spat out as he quickly whirled around and glared at his friend. "Bludd did this and killed Ralph. He also nearly killed Bill and Courtney. Bill healed, but she hasn't. She is lying down there not…" He abruptly stopped his tirade and slumped to the floor of the roof, pulling his knees to his chest and burying his head.

Lifeline slowly approached the sobbing soldier. He placed a comforting hand on Dusty's shoulder. "Ron, what is your fear?"

Keeping his face buried, he mumbled, "That she will not wake up, or when she does, she will hate me for putting her back into that damn coma." Looking up into Lifeline's face, he said, "She could be discharged, you know. That will break her heart and mine. I've read the information sheets and know that a thousand things could happen. She had a head injury for God's sakes, and that changes people. She was awake for two days, but she couldn't speak because of that damn breathing tube. She…"

Lifeline quickly squatted down beside him and interrupted, "Or she could be fine. All of our tests show that there are no lingering side effects to her head trauma, but we will not know until she wakes up." Lifeline paused, thinking about Dusty's words. Being bold and readying himself for Dusty's reaction, Lifeline stiffened slightly and asked, "You are right, Ron, this could change her. If she has changed, will this make you love her less?"

Without hesitation, Dusty shook his head. "No. I can't believe you asked me that, but the answer is no." Looking to the horizon, the desert trooper continued, "I know that at any given time, our number could be up. We put our lives on the line, but that doesn't mean that we don't worry about each other. I want her back just the way she was, but if that isn't possible, I…I just want her back…awake."

"As do all of us," Lifeline agreed. "Okay then, do you want Courtney to retire? Would you force her to quit?"

"I love working with her, and she loves what she does. I would never force her to do anything that she doesn't want to do."

Lifeline realized that Dusty never answered his question regarding retirement, but he decided not to ask again. There were many unknowns at the moment. There was a chance that Cover Girl could be medically discharged, but nothing could be decided until she woke up and could be evaluated.

Dusty looked up when he never heard Lifeline reply. "I don't know what I want, Ed. All I want is for her to wake up." He watched the medic nod before he continued, "Do you realize that today we were to be married? In eight hours, I was supposed to marry the woman I love. Instead, I'm here, watching the woman I love sleep and unable to do a damn thing about it."

"I know, Ron. Yes, I do remember that date, and I'm sorry that you are here instead of getting ready for your wedding," Lifeline quietly said, patting his friend's shoulder.

Dusty stood up. "I need to get back down there. I promised Court I would never leave her alone, which I just did." He started to walk towards the elevator but stopped and turned around. "Thank you, Ed, for listening. I'm sorry I yelled at you and accused you and Doc of not knowing what you are doing. I have complete faith and confidence in you both. Sometimes, though, it gets too hard to deal with this rationally."

Lifeline walked up and smiled. "I understand, Ron. I don't blame you one bit." The two men walked back to the elevator in silence.

Once Dusty was back inside the hospital, he walked quickly to Cover Girl's room. He entered the room, feeling guilty that he had left her alone. He went over to the side of her bed and gently stroked her cheek before he kissed her forehead. Whispering softly, he said, "I'm sorry I yelled, Court. I didn't mean it. I love you. Please wake up today."


	8. Results

**Ambushed  
Chapter 8 – Results  
By: Pink Brain **

As the hours ticked by on the day that Dusty and Cover Girl were supposed to be married, Lady Jaye and Scarlett made their mid-afternoon stop so that Dusty could take a shower and change. Neither of them knew what had happened earlier that morning. "Hey, Ron. How are you doing today?" Lady Jaye asked, keeping her voice upbeat as most of the base personnel had remembered that today was supposed to be a very special day for the desert trooper and tank jockey.

Dusty looked up from his book and gave the ladies a fake smile. "It has been a trying day so far," he revealed, unwilling to lie to either of the women.

"Would you like to talk about it?" Scarlett asked, concerned by his statement and wondering if something had happened to Cover Girl.

"No thanks. I'll be back in fifteen or twenty minutes," he told them, standing up and giving Cover Girl's hand a goodbye kiss.

"See you soon, Ron," Lady Jaye called after him before glancing at Scarlett as the trooper exited the room. "I wonder what happened," she stated.

Scarlett shrugged while she walked over to Cover Girl. As the counterintelligence operative reached for Cover Girl's hand, she caught the shine of a teardrop sliding down Cover Girl's cheek. "Al," Scarlett quickly said, "go see if you can stop Ron."

Lady Jaye looked at Scarlett and was about to ask why when she noticed Scarlett's anxious look. She bolted out of the hospital room, nearly colliding with Doc.

"Whoa there. Where's the fire?" Doc asked quickly, furrowing his eyebrow as he noticed that Lady Jaye had come from Cover Girl's room.

"Not sure. I need to catch up with Ron," Lady Jaye blurted out as she ran down the hall looking for Dusty.

Doc watched the brunette covert ops specialist depart and quickly headed for Cover Girl's room. When he entered, he saw Scarlett leaning over Cover Girl's bed and heard her softly talking to the tank jockey. "Shana, what's going on?"

"I don't know, Doc. Court is crying, but I don't know why," Scarlett told the doctor.

Doc walked up to the bed and saw the teardrops running down his patient's cheeks. He quickly glanced at her monitors and then back to Cover Girl. "Courtney, can you hear me? Squeeze my hand if you can hear me," Doc told her, wrapping his dark-skinned hand around her pale hand. He waited patiently, glancing over at Scarlett, who also grasped Cover Girl's hand.

"Courtney, come on. Make us all happy. Give Ron something to smile about when he gets back here," Scarlett begged.

"How long has she been crying?" Doc asked as he took a clean cloth and wiped the tears from Cover Girl's cheeks.

"I don't know. Ron didn't seem to notice when he left a few minutes ago, but it appeared to have started when he left," Scarlett explained.

Doc started to wonder what happened earlier. He had been briefed that Captain Winters overheard Dusty's raised voice earlier that morning. "I think I … " Doc began to say when he felt the hand beneath his move. Looking down at Cover Girl's face, he said, "Good girl. Do that again."

Scarlett grinned as she felt Cover Girl's hand tense and weakly grip hers. "Good job, Court," she praised the tank jockey.

Lady Jaye ran back into the room. "What's going on?" She looked between Doc and Scarlett.

Doc continued to speak to Cover Girl while Scarlett informed, "Courtney moved her hands, and she's crying. Did you catch up to Ron?"

"Wonderful," Lady Jaye said. "No, but I ran into Dash and Conrad in the parking lot, and they were going to chase him down."

Scarlett nodded and her eyes happened to land on the nightstand. "I guess we should have just called him. It would have been easier," she quipped, seeing Ron's phone number lying by the phone.

"Why would we do that?" Lady Jaye chuckled quietly, walking up beside Scarlett. "Hey Court, it's Al. Open those big brown eyes for us."

Meanwhile, Doc had retrieved his light and was about to shine it in Cover Girl's eyes when her eyelids fluttered open. "And there she is," Doc greeted. "Welcome back, Sgt. Krieger."

Cover Girl eyes went to the voice speaking to her before they darted over to Scarlett and Lady Jaye. She looked back to Doc, remembering that the last time she saw his face he was making her go back to sleep. "Doc," she tried to talk, but her voice was a croak and only a tiny, raspy squeak came out of her mouth, followed by a knife cutting pain.

Doc pointed to the pitcher of water, and Lady Jaye quickly poured some water in a glass. "Here Court. Let's get you something to wet your whistle." He moved a strong hand behind her back and helped her sit up as Lady Jaye tilted the glass to her lips.

Cover Girl felt weak as Doc moved her, but as soon as her lips found the edge of the glass, she welcomed the cool liquid. Swallowing, she immediately started to cough.

"Easy does it," Doc reassured her, lightly patting her back. "I think we forgot which pipe the water goes down," he lightheartedly joked. Once her coughing fit had subsided, Doc eased her back down. "Feel better?" The doctor asked.

Cover Girl nodded weakly, closing her eyes for a moment before trying to say, "Thank you." Her voice still betrayed her, and she started to cough again.

Lady Jaye and Scarlett both looked at Doc worriedly as he quickly adjusted her bed so that she was not lying flat. Once she had stopped coughing, he checked her throat and found it to be raw and very sore. Cover Girl tried to push him away as he depressed her tongue. Her gag reflexes kicked in, sending more pain coursing down her throat. "It's okay, Courtney. I'm done. No wonder you are coughing. It looks like that breathing tube irritated your throat. I'm going to give you something to help soothe that. Does it hurt when you swallow?"

Cover Girl nodded and tried to speak, only to be rewarded with another burning round of coughs. Tears came to her eyes as the pain and coughing continued.

Dusty, Flint, and Duke ran into the room just as she began to cough. Flint and Duke both stopped by the door as Dusty pressed forward. "Doc, what is going on?" He asked, his voice laced with anger and worry until he saw Cover Girl's eyes open and saw that she was coughing on her own. "Courtney?" He anxiously asked, stepping next to her as Scarlett and Lady Jaye moved away. He picked up her hand and squeezed it as Doc held her in a sitting position until the coughing ceased.

Exhausted, Cover Girl closed her eyes as Doc gently laid her back down against the mattress. "Give her a minute, Ron," Doc quietly told the worried trooper.

Dusty nodded, reaching out and wiping away some of the tears of pain from Cover Girl's cheeks.

Feeling the gentle touch on her cheek, Cover Girl opened her eyes and looked at Dusty. Her heart skipped a beat as she gazed at his face. Not wanting to ignite another round of coughs, she squeezed his hand and smiled weakly.

Dusty grinned just by seeing her smile at him. "Oh, I've missed that smile so much," he softly told her, not caring that five of his teammates were standing around him.

Scarlett and Lady Jaye walked over to their husbands before looking back at Dusty, Cover Girl, and Doc. Cover Girl nodded her understanding, still holding onto his hand but closing her eyes to rest. Doc lowered her bed slightly and adjusted her blankets. "Congratulations, Ron."

Dusty looked at the doctor and replied, "Thank you, Doc. I just got the greatest wedding gift of all."

Doc smiled and confirmed, "Yes you did, my boy." He noticed a nurse enter the room, and he instructed her to get some throat lozenges for Cover Girl.

"What is wrong with her throat? Why was she coughing so hard?" Dusty asked, stroking back the tank jockey's damp hair from the coughing attacks.

"The main reason, Ron, is that the breathing tube irritated her throat. There isn't a lot we can do for her but let her body heal naturally," Doc told him.

"Is that why her voice was barely audible?" Scarlett asked.

"Maybe," Doc answered. "Either her vocal chords were reacting to the soreness of her throat, or they may have been slightly damaged." He looked quickly to Dusty and continued, "Before you ask, they will heal, but it may take some time."

Dusty nodded, giving Doc a sheepish grin.

"I hear Courtney woke up," Lifeline said, as he walked in with a nurse, who was carrying the items Doc requested.

"Yes, she did," Dusty told him, feeling guilty about how he acted this morning. Meeting Lifeline's eyes, he said, "Ed, I'm sorry about this morning."

"Don't worry about it, Ron. We have all been stressed," Lifeline quickly replied.

Doc arched a questioning eyebrow at the two men. "Ed, come with me. I'll fill you in on Courtney's condition." He placed the package of throat lozenges on the night stand. "Ron, when she wakes up, keep her quiet and give her one of these, or buzz the nurse's station. She shouldn't choke on them since they are pretty small, but if she does swallow it, she'll probably start coughing. Get her in an upright position and call the nurse. Any questions?"

"No. Thank you, Doc. I appreciate all you did."

"Anytime, Son." Looking to Lifeline, he said, "Come on, Ed. Let's have a chat."

Lifeline groaned inwardly, knowing that Doc had been informed of this morning's earlier confrontation. "I'll be back a little later, Ron," he said before he followed Doc out of the room.

Dusty looked at Scarlett and Lady Jaye. "When did she wake up? How did you know?"

Lady Jaye shrugged and looked to Scarlett, who explained, "I didn't really know. After you left, I walked over to the bed, and she had tears running down her cheeks. I told Al to go get you, and luckily, she ran into Doc on the way out. Hadn't she done anything all day to give you a sign?"

Dusty shook his head. "No, she just laid there like the past how many days. Why was she crying?"

Lady Jaye jumped into the conversation. "Maybe she knew you left or was upset over something."

"Oh," Dusty replied. He looked back at Cover Girl, who was peacefully sleeping, and mumbled, "I'm so sorry." He bent down and kissed her cheek.

Lady Jaye and Scarlett looked at one another and back to Dusty. They both picked up that something had happened, but neither knew what. "Ron, did something happen that you would like to tell us about?" Duke asked, walking up beside the young trooper and placing a steady hand on Dusty's shoulder.

Dusty shook his head, still staring down at Cover Girl, but revealed, "I don't know. I may have said some things that I truly didn't mean. I never meant to upset her."

Flint, Lady Jaye, and Scarlett walked up beside the bed. "Ron," Lady Jaye began, "we all say things when we are stressed or upset. No matter what you said, she's not holding it against you. Look at her. She's peacefully sleeping and still clinging to you like you were her lifeline. Do you understand me? You need to stop feeling guilty for everything that you say or everything that happened. You had no control over most of this, but it is all going to be alright."

Dusty looked up and smiled. "Thanks, Al. I understand, and yes, everything is going to be okay."

Trying to the lighten the conversation, Flint interjected, "Well, just so you all know, I must be Ron and Courtney's good luck charm."

"How so?" Scarlett asked, arching an eyebrow as she walked over to stand next to Duke.

"I return from the desert and bring them joy," the Warrant Officer gloated, receiving an elbow to his gut from his wife as Duke quickly rebutted, "In your dreams, Tough Guy." Scarlett rolled her eyes, meeting Lady Jaye's eyes and giving her friend a wink. Both women exchanged a smile as Dusty and their husbands laughed and continued to quietly joke.

In her slumber, Cover Girl could hear the conversation and could feel Dusty's hand on hers. Despite her throat feeling like it was on fire, her friends and her fiancé were by her side, and she knew that she was not alone.

_The End of Part 1_

* * *

Yes, you read that right. The end for now. Once again, my sincerest thanks for reading and coming along with me on this journey. I decided to end this part here for a few reasons. I didn't want to leave this unfinished because that would not do it, my readers, or the characters justice.

There is always the possibility that I'll do a second part since I left several hints at retaliation but no promises. Thanks to my wife, who was my writing partner from the start, and many thanks to Medic Lifeline, who gave me some wonderful medical and in general advice. I also wish to thank Shelly Red, Scarlett Phoenix, Storm O, Kat, and Wild Child for their support and becoming a trusted friend to me and my family.

Until my next story, Godspeed and I salute you all. Thank you for your support and reviews.


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